James Davis is Professor of International Relations and Director of the Institute for Political Science at the University of St. Gallen Switzerland. His fields of research interest include international security, methods of political science, political psychology, and the transatlantic relations. Prof. Davis also chairs the Centre for Security Economics and Technology. A frequent contributor to newspapers, Professor Davis has published three books and numerous book chapters and articles.

Entries by James Davis

In the midst of the Great Depression, Franklin Delano Roosevelt unseated a sitting president with the campaign slogan: "Happy days are here again!" Assuming the presidency in March 1933, he lifted the spirits of the nation with the assertion: "The only thing we have to fear...is fear itself!" A half-century...

Moscow's occupation of the Crimea raises a number of critical questions, but one thing is certain: the West's strategy for Russia is an abject failure. Prominent voices may express hope that the NATO-Russia Council, the OSCE, or a special summit of the G-8 will provide the forum for a diplomatic...

The who's who of the world's foreign policy and security community met this weekend at the 50th Munich Security Conference. As befits a half-century anniversary, there was a fair amount of reminiscence, in particular over the life and legacy of the conference's founder, Baron Ewald von Kleist. A member of...

Back from her annual summer holiday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has begun the final phase of her re-election campaign this week - not that anyone paid much notice. Arranging campaign appearances in front of high school history classes and old-folks homes, it seems Merkel is doing her best to avoid...

"Are we going to admit to the world that a Jew can be elected Mayor of Dublin, a Protestant can be chosen Foreign Minister of France, a Moslem can be elected to the Israeli parliament - but a Catholic cannot be President of the United States? Are we going to...

With 20th Century crises over and the Cold War now at most faded memories; most of us have forgotten that nuclear diplomacy is a tricky game indeed. The dangers involved are now on clear display in the escalating crisis in North Korea as the United States seeks to strike a...

How can President Obama make good on his campaign promises to strengthen the welfare state, invest in America's crumbling infrastructure and preserve American leadership in world affairs - all in a period of sluggish growth and continued economic uncertainty?

For Barack Obama, the day after the election looks more or less the same as it did the day before. A Democratic president enjoys a narrow majority in the Senate and faces solid Republican control of the House of Representatives. What could be running through his mind? Just how he...

Trust me! No, I am not citing Mitt Romney, although those two words sum up the substance of his appeal for votes at last night's debate. What I mean is: trust me this election is going to be a cliffhanger.

If there were any lingering doubts, Barack Obama removed them last night in Charlotte. Yes, we are going to have a real debate in 2012. And although he was short on details, even as he criticised the Republicans for speaking in generalities, the President used his acceptance speech at the...